The scientific order of insects that includes flies, mosquitoes, and gnats; they are characterized by having a single pair of functional wings for flight.
From Greek 'di-' (two) and 'ptera' (wings), representing the Latin scientific classification system established by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century. The name refers to the order's most distinctive feature.
This order contains over 150,000 species and includes some of humanity's most important disease vectors like mosquitoes and tsetse flies, making dipterans arguably the insects that have most shaped human history and evolution!
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